RPTW Newsletter Issue 14

Page 2 http://www.facebook.com/Rafipeertheatreworkshop National Folk Puppet Festival 2014 From the 27th to the 30th of March 2014, the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop hosted its annual Folk Puppet Festival at the Rafi Peer Cultural Centre in Lahore. The Folk Puppet Festivals are devoted to the preservation of folk puppetry, arts and crafts, significant art forms which are an integral part of our cultural heritage and have been for the most part, much ignored. The 11th National Folk Festival is the eleventh installment of an initiative of the Faizaan Peerzada Museum of Puppetry to safeguard this beautiful heritage. Over four days the Rafi Peer Cultural Centre was visited by hundreds of families, children, schools and children's organizations and hosted a showcase of Puppetry, Dance, Music, and Crafts. The Festival featured artists such as Krishan Lal Bheel and his troupe from Cholistan, the RPTW Puppet Workshop, and a rare performance by the PNCA's National Puppet Theatre, magicians, folk puppeteers, dancing mascots, jugglers and more. The art of folk puppetry has been a waning art form for decades, and with the inauguration of the Museum of Puppetry, which hosts the largest collection of folk puppets in South Asia, and its subsequent festivals, this historic voice of our heritage has been brought out of the shadows. Pakistan is a country where many of our oldest traditions and literature is passed orally from generation to generation, the folk puppet community has played a massive role in propagating these traditions, making it their lively hood to pass down stories from mothers to daughters and fathers to sons. These puppeteers have faced the threat of extinction due to the marginalization of their craft, and with them would have died centuries of oral traditions. The Folk Puppet Festivals, a particular passion project of Faizaan Peerzada, have been dedicated to preserving these indigenous crafts from around Pakistan for the last eleven years. “We were committed to it despite our sponsors withdrawing at the last moment because we wanted to push forward some sort of a music revolution, at least in Lahore. And by successfully organising 'Storm in a Teacup', we have definitely given it some momentum.” – Zain Peerzada RPTW joined hands with True Brew Records along with Lussun TV for a one of a kind indie-music festival, held on the lawns of Peeru's Café around their 30 foot Main stage. Storm in a Teacup was the brainchild of Jamal Rehman and Zain Peerzada, who had been discussing the idea of a day-long indie-music festival for some time. When they connected with the Khayaban-e-Lussun tour in Islamabad, the idea came together providing a great opportunity to gather together indie and upcoming musicians on one platform. “I had been wanting to do a music festival for a long time now. This festival was a culmination of our Live at True Brew sessions. Just a week before the event, our sponsors fell through because they weren't sure if it was safe for them to put in money for some 'underground' bands.” – Rahman commented to Dawn Newspaper. He went on to say that “We had no confirmation from the sponsors until just a week ago. But we decided to go through with it nonetheless,”. All the bands, which performed at this one-day music festival, volunteered themselves and finances were arranged by TBR itself while the stage and technical support was provided by the RPTW. In his comments to Dawn Newspaper Zain Peerzada said, “It came naturally to me by virtue of being part of RPTW. Since we have had a long tradition of promoting arts, culture and music and have been organising so many different festivals since 1992.” He emphasised that in Pakistan there was no platform for such indie bands. “We were committed to it despite our sponsors withdrawing at the last moment because we wanted to push forward some sort of a music revolution, at least in Lahore. And by successfully organising 'Storm in a Teacup', we have definitely given it some momentum.” The line-up included bands such as Jimmy Khan & the Big Ears, Poor Rich Boy (and the Toothless Winos), Sikandar Ka Mandar, /orangenoise, Red Blood Cat, Shaije, Ali Suhail, Natasha Humera Ejaz and Lower Sindh! Swing Orchestra. All of the musicians brought their own distinct style of music on stage but through it all, they made sure that they had done for the crowds that which the organisers had intended. The festival was a glorious day in the sun attended by approximately 400 people, who fell into the vibe of easy fun and mellow contentment created by the event. With the success of Storm in a Teacup, TBR looks forward to extending their activities with longer and more frequent indie-festivals. The RPTW, as Pakistan's foremost patron of the arts is in full support of such activities and looks forward to more young people developing more initiatives like these. The RPTW is strongly committed to always being there to support those who work to bring the performing arts and culture to the people of Pakistan. Storm in a Teacup 29th January 2014 okurO Bo Yo wn okurO Bo Yo wn